–Urges Parents to Protect Children
-by Celestine Chacon
Guyana is working to increase its HPV vaccine coverage to 90 per cent, with health officials urging parents to take advantage of the free service.
Director General at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo says some parents continue to resist having their children vaccinated.
He reiterated that the HPV vaccine is available free of charge and is encouraging parents to protect their children’s health by taking advantage of the service.
The Ministry is seeking to raise HPV vaccination coverage among children aged 9 to 15 from the current 70 per cent to 90 per cent as part of its national strategy to eliminate cervical cancer.
“Parents, what you do for your children today, will benefit them for the rest of their lives. If you ensure that they get the vaccine today, it is going to save them from what we call vaccine preventable diseases for the rest of their lives,” he said.
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women in Guyana, even though it is largely preventable through vaccination and early screening. In light of this, Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony is calling on communities to support the national vaccination campaign, noting that achieving and maintaining 90 per cent coverage would put Guyana on track to eliminating cervical cancer.
“So one of the jobs we have before us and we’re hoping that people in this community can work with us to ensure that we eliminate cervical cancer from our country,” the minister said.
Dr. Anthony also highlighted that health centres now offer HPV testing and Pap smears, encouraging women to undergo regular screening for the early detection of cervical cancer.